Forty-two days after birth, when the child is blessed by the
priest, be is given anklets and bracelets of brass and silver
in place of the black strings that he wore tied around his wrists
since he was seven days old. His ears are pierced, and a thread
is passed through each hole so that three months later he can
wear little flower-shaped car-rings of gold. Around his neck
is tied a necklace composed of various amulets that will protect
him and influence his growth: a silver tube containing a dried
piece of the child's own umbilical cord, some coloured glass
beads, a piece of black coral (akar bahar) , an ancient coin,
and a tiger's tooth or a piece of tiger bone. This is all the
child wears until he is about seven years old, but little girls
are given a skirt and a sash three or four years before. The
repugnance of the Balinese for actions characteristic of animals
causes them not to permit children to crawl on all fours, and
before the child is three months old he may not even touch the
earth and is carried everywhere.
Offerings are made when the child is three months old (nelu
bulanin) and again at his first anniversary (otonan) when the
child is 2 1 o days old, one Balinese year. Then he is dressed
in rich brocades and is 'given gold bracelets, anklets, a necklace
set with rubies and sapphires, and agold disk with a, ruby in
it, which is pasted on the child's forehead. His hair is then
cut (ngutangin bok) , and his head is shaved clean except for
a lock or hair on the forehead that is never cut; otherwise
he would become ill. On this date the priest blesses the child
again, while offerings are made to the family shrine, to the
sun, and to the evil spirits.
The well-to-do make a big occasion of the first birthday and
give a banquet with theatrical performances, but it is a rule
for all to give a shadow-play as a part of the ceremonies. After
the first anniversary less attention is paid to birthdays; the
third year has a special significance and perhaps the mother
will make some offerings in subsequent years, but grown people
forget about them and soon lose track of their ages.
On his first birthday the child receives his magic name from
the priest, who writes various propitious names, obtained through
a divination, on pieces of palm-leaf which be burns. The name
given to the child is that which can be made out most clearly
from the charred remains, or the one that takes the longest
time to burn. This is a secret name that no one ever hears and
soon even the father forgets it. A baby is simply called "
the child, of so and-so," but eventually he is given a
personal name by his parents. Even this name has an influence
over his life and should he become sick often, the name is.
to blame and a more appropriate one is chosen by the priest
or the witch-doctor.. Boys and girls are called by their names,
but it would be poor i manners to do so after the child has
grown up. A personal name is private property and it is always
patronizing to call a person by his name. High-caste people
keep their names secret and go trough life called only by their
caste titles.
